WEINGUT HAHNMÜHLE (Nahe, Germany)
In the wild and romantic Alsenz valley, distanced far from the traditional wine route of the River Nahe, Martina and Peter Linxweiler have long been devoting themselves to producing wines of quality. Only the most recent chapter, in the history of an estate (13th C.) that stretches back over one hundred years, the Linxweilers work tirelessly, relying on biodynamic viticulture to lead the way to wines of pure expression. The estate was once much larger, supporting a bulk wine trade, but when this branch of the family took over in 1986, the land was down to a handful of hectare. This allowed Peter and Maria to replant, using only the best clones for the best sites. It now stands at 11.5ha of Sylvaner, Riesling, Traminer and Portugeiser planted in sandstone and slate grounds. The prized vineyard is the co-planted Riesling/Traminer site that is fermented as a ’Äòfield blend’Äô in family tradition. Everywhere, the steep slopes with meagre soils, help ensure that yields are kept very low. There is a push for even higher expressiveness from the fruit with rigorous pruning and selective manual harvesting. In the old cellar, temperatures are kept low by a natural spring, trickling past old 'dopplestueck' barrels, barrique and steel tanks (the electricity for the cellar is produced by this source as well). This provides long fermentations and conditions for extended lees contact. The wines generally proceed, on their own until bottling, confident the wine was perfected while still on the vine. It is a great era for the Weingut, under the current administration, scaled down to producing full flavoured, mineral-intact wines.
Riesling Traminer Spätlese Feinherb 2008

A natural blend of Riesling and Traminer (roughly 75/25%) interplanted from the family vineyard. Hand selected (after several passes for ideal ripeness) and co-fermented in old oak (2440L barrels) with only natural yeasts. Allowed to rest on the lees through the spring under cool temps. Bottled unfiltered.